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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24684133">Endless Wonder (is always Endless)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daughter_of_the_TARDIS/pseuds/Daughter_of_the_TARDIS'>Daughter_of_the_TARDIS</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Strange Families [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies), Warehouse 13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Artie is a Good Dad, Artifacts (Warehouse 13), Darcy Lewis is the fandom bicycle and I love it, Explanations, Explanations of Warehouse lore, F/F, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fix-It, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Leena and Darcy are sisters, Leena is Caring, No knowledge of Warehouse 13 is required to read this fic, Rare Pairings, References to Warehouse 13, the fic where I get marvel stans to watch Warehouse 13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:34:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,916</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24684133</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daughter_of_the_TARDIS/pseuds/Daughter_of_the_TARDIS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“What exactly are you offering me?” She asked, and he thought hard about what to say to her.  There was something about this kid that intrigued him - that he had noticed since he first showed up at her house only to find her arguing with the homicide detectives. Finally, he came up with the right words.</p><p>“A world of endless wonder.” Artie promised, and despite her skepticism, a wide smile spread across her face at his words.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Darcy Lewis &amp; Claudia Donovan, Jane Foster &amp; Darcy Lewis, Leena &amp; Artie Nielsen, Leena &amp; Darcy Lewis, Leena/Bucky Barnes, Myka Bering &amp; Pete Lattimer, Myka Bering/Helena "H. G." Wells, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Strange Families [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1035860</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>90</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>All the Avengers had strange backgrounds.  Even some of their support staff did - it was almost to be expected when one worked with Earth's Mightiest Heroes.  But there was only one whose background was usually ignored.  </p><p>8888</p><p>Darcy Lewis was first shown just how weird the world could be when she was eleven years old and a game of Clue came to life and killed her parents.  None of the police officers believed her when she told them what happened - she had had a fight with her parents right before it happened, and at the moment she was their prime suspect. She was only eleven years old - but that didn’t matter to the police, apparently.  Nor did it matter that her parents were both drunks who spent more time at the bottom of the bottle than with their child.  She wasn’t bitter, of course - just pointing out that they could have died from liver failure if it wasn’t for that board game.  Everything she said in her defense fell on deaf ears.</p><p>That was when he appeared.  The man with the eyebrows and the purple gloves.  He was of medium height and a stocky build, and in his suit he looked more like a computer programmer than any sort of agent.  He came in just as she started to yell at the police officer who had been talking to her, hot tears pricking her eyes.  He let her say her piece, almost looking impressed with how she ripped the boys in blue a new one, but intervened when the cop was about to go after her.</p><p>“What are you doing?” He asked the cop, looking deceptively casual.  He crossed the room, handing her a pack of tissues that he pulled out of his bag even as he stepped in between her and the police officer.  Even while his face remained calm, his frame was tense.  </p><p>“I'm interrogating a suspect.” The cop said, puffing himself up with importance.</p><p>The man raised an eyebrow, looking decidedly unimpressed.  “A suspect?” He asked, incredulous.  “She's a child!”. He pointed behind himself at her - scratched glasses and frizzy hair and a worn-out, oversized sweater to hide the growth spurt she had gone through earlier in the year.</p><p>“Yeah? And who the hell are you to tell me how to do my job?” The cop asked.  He was obviously green - fresh out of the academy and ready to prove himself.  </p><p>The newcomer rolled his eyes even as he dug around in his bag - although, she noticed that he made sure to tilt his head just enough that the cop wouldn't see him.  “Agent Arthur Nielsen.” He said, flashing his badge as he introduced himself.  “I was called in on this case.”</p><p>The cop paled slightly, and she had to fight to hide her smirk at how nervous he looked.  Whoever this newcomer was, she had already decided that she liked him just for that.  She watched him read the policeman the riot act from where she sat on their ratty old couch until he was done.  After that, he headed in her direction and she quickly hid her smile.</p><p>“Hey kiddo.” He said, sitting down on the couch next to her, wincing a bit when it sagged underneath him.  He kept a decent distance between them, watching as that simple gesture helped her to relax a bit.  He tried to reign in any grumpiness that he had before he started to talk to her, knowing from past experience that being grumpy wasn't  the way to get a kid to open up.  “My name's Artie.  Do you… can I ask you some questions?”. </p><p>She nodded, but didn't give him a chance to ask anything before she asked a question of her own.  “Do you think I killed them too?” she asked, wiping the tears away from her cheeks.  She braced herself, waiting for his answer - he might have saved her from the other cop, but she had watched enough movies to know that good cop/bad cop was totally a thing.  He could have just been trying to get her guard down, she reasoned.</p><p>“Nope.” he answered, shaking his head.  “I don't.”. </p><p>She snorted out a half-hearted laugh despite herself. “You'd be the first.”. She pulled one of the couch cushions over, holding it tightly as a shield against what had happened.  “What do you want?”</p><p>“Just to talk.” He reassured her.  “Can you tell me what happened?” </p><p>Her face started to crumple as she remembered the events of that night.  He quickly handed her a handkerchief that he pulled out of his pocket, hoping to stop the flow of tears before they had a chance to properly begin.</p><p>8888</p><p>Months passed.  Her parents were buried.  Every relative turned her away at the door, saying that they weren't willing to take her in.  Eventually, she was turned over to the state.</p><p>It was only after she was placed in a group home that a familiar face showed up.  She had barely been there for a month yet, and she already knew that she was going to be stuck there until she aged out of the system.  She was too defiant, too old for anyone to want to adopt her.  That was okay - she was okay with that.  Or at least, that was what she told herself.</p><p>“Darcy,” Miss Gorlois - the woman in charge of the group home that she was living in - called out as she knocked on her door.  She smiled awkwardly at the man following behind her.  “You have a visitor.”. She waited for a moment before opening the door, ignoring how the man looked uncomfortable with the idea of merely breaking into her room uninvited.</p><p>He walked into the room, waving off the woman who tried to follow him.</p><p>“What do you want?” She asked, not even bothering to take her face out of the pillow.  After all, it wouldn't be anyone looking to adopt her - they all wanted babies or kids who hadn't been accused of killing their parents.  She, unfortunately, was neither of those things.</p><p>“I - uh, well, I came to see how you were doing.” Artie admitted, clutching his bag just a little bit tighter in his hand.  He wouldn't admit it to her, but he had seen a little bit of himself in her, from back before he had joined the Warehouse. Lonely and confused and just a little bit lost in the world.  It had taken him ages to remember what that had felt like - but once he did, the feeling hadn't gone away.  He kept remembering the quiet little girl who had just accepted her fate.</p><p>She pulled her head out of the pillow, looking at him in surprise. “Agent Nielsen?” She asked, looking confused.  She was pretty sure that it was him, although he looked different now than he had before.  The dark sunglasses and suit that he wore had been replaced with wire-framed spectacles and slightly loose-fitting clothes.  He looked even less like an agent now - more like someone's dad that had watched a few too many alien documentaries on the history channel.  The last time she had seen the NSA agent had been when he left after finding the object that killed her parents.  “What are you doing here?”</p><p>“I - I told you.” he looked nervous.  “I wanted to see how you were doing.”</p><p>“Why?” She asked, looking suspicious.  “I don't even know you.  You could be anyone.”</p><p>“I could be.” He agreed.  “But I'm not.”</p><p>“What exactly are you offering me?” She asked, and he thought hard about what to say to her.  There was something about this kid that intrigued him - that he had noticed since he first showed up at her house only to find her arguing with the homicide detectives. Finally, he came up with the right words.</p><p>“A world of endless wonder.” He promised, and despite her skepticism, a wide smile spread across her face at his words.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This fic is not going to be anywhere near as long as the ones that I have been writing recently - I think it'll max out around 15-20k.  But I am planning on doing a series of one-shots to go with it.  Extra little glimpses into this verse.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was strange - she had only been in the system for a few months, but she had heard horror stories.  Families that wanted to adopt children but were stopped because they didn’t meet criteria.  Cases that took years to go through.  Kids that thought they had found their new families, only to be cruelly ripped apart.  None of that happened in her case - it went through like magic.  When she asked Artie about it - and he had specified to call him that, not Mr. Nielsen or Arthur like she had first tried - the man just smiled.  “We must have a friend out there.” was all that he would say.</p><p>Darcy had never left Kansas in her life - she had never left the tiny town that she had grown up in until she was placed in foster care.  So flying was a new experience for her - Artie watched her with growing amusement as she took in everything around her.  The whole airport was fascinating to her - they bought sandwiches from a small airport shop and she acted like it was the greatest thing in her life, thanking him repeatedly.  As much as he wanted to bask in it, he was worried - she shouldn’t be this grateful just for food.  Leena was going to have a field day when she met this kid, he mused. </p><p>He looked over at the kid sitting next to him - dark hair long and unkept, clothes too big and a dingey gray color from being passed down so many times before.  She looked nervous, but excited - like she wasn’t sure whatever was going to happen next, and couldn’t wait to find out.</p><p>He was going to take care of her, he promised himself.  This would not turn out like the Donovan girl all over again.  He wouldn't let it.</p><p>8888</p><p>When they first pulled up the long and winding driveway towards the massive Victorian house, she wondered how the hell a government agent could afford this place.  It was huge - three floors and an attic, with a massively sprawling outline.  There was a tower on one end of the house and a conservatory on the other, with almost one whole side of the house covered in ivy.  The walls were whitewashed, with a blue shingled roof topping off the whole thing and making it look like something out of a painting.  Then she saw the sign out front - 'Leena’s Bed and Breakfast’.  She took in the scenery as the car slowed to a halt, only climbing out when Artie did the same thing and started walking up the driveway after him.  She kept looking around, trusting her feet to take her where she needed to go as she took in everything around them.  It was beautiful here - a far cry from the tiny, cluttered, and broken-down shack that she had grown up in.</p><p>“Are we spending the night here?” She asked, smiling at the flowerbeds that she could see in the backyard.  It reminded her of the beds in the local park that the town kept in pristine condition - one afternoon she had snuck away and helped plant them all, as many as she could.  She wondered if she would be able to do the same thing here.  One entire side of the house was covered in ivy, and she could see what looked like a glassed-in conservatory in one corner of the building.  </p><p>But Artie shook his head.  “This is where I live - where you're going to live.  Leena's already made up a room for you.” he hurried up the porch steps, pulling open the front door and gesturing for her to follow him.  He could smell fresh-baked cookies, and wanted to get at them as quickly as he could.</p><p>But she froze, looking up at the building in front of her.  “You live in a B&amp;B?” She asked incredulously.  The idea itself was weirdly cool in a way, like something out of a fantasy book.  “What, do you work for a secret government agency, too?” She joked.  She didn’t expect the answer that she got.</p><p>Artie looked back at her, looking wary.  “Ah… yep.  If you misbehave, we have ways to make you disappear.” He said solemnly, then waved her in. “Come on in.  Leena just made a fresh batch - she makes the best cookies.” He said, and if that made her walk just a little bit faster, neither of them were going to say anything.  Then she realized exactly what he said.</p><p>“Artie, you know I was kidding about the government thing, right?” She asked nervously.  “Artie?”</p><p>Darcy made her way inside - the whole house was beautifully cozy.  She followed Artie, relaxing at the feeling around her.  There was a woman in the kitchen, pulling a tray out of the oven - dark curls and eyes, and a pretty patterned sundress hugging her curves.  She smiled when she saw Artie, and that smile only dimmed a little bit when she turned to look at the new arrival.  She put the tray of cookies down on the countertop, smiling as she pulled off her oven mitts.  “You must be Darcy.” she said after an awkward moment of silence.  Her head tilted slightly to one side, eyes narrowing slightly as she took in the girl in front of her.  “I’m Leena.”</p><p>Darcy fidgeted under her gaze, not entirely sure about what to do.  This house was nicer than anywhere she had ever been, but the whole place actually felt like a home.  Most nice places that she had been had felt like museums - she was too afraid to touch anything to ever really feel comfortable.  “Can I… can I go look around?” she asked awkwardly, fiddling with her hands.</p><p>“Of course.”  Leena agreed, a small smile on her face as she continued to study the girl in front of her.  “Your room is the second door on the right.”</p><p>He waited until she made her way upstairs, but then Artie turned to Leena.  “What did you see?” he asked.  He might have been a good judge of character for the most part, but Leena had an advantage over him.  She could see auras - the colored lights around a person that showed their personality and emotions.  It was part of what had drawn her to the Warehouse in the first place, she had told him.</p><p>Leena smiled, and he could feel whatever tension was in his chest release at the sight.  Somehow, the little girl that had gone upstairs had wormed her way into his heart in the months since they had met.  “She’s a bit shy - nervous about being here, definitely.  But there’s something about her…” she paused, trying to find the right words.  She could see a lot in the girl’s aura - children always had auras that just shone with possibility.  “Give her time, Artie.  She’ll fit right in.”</p><p>“Right.  Good.”  Artie said awkwardly, looking at the staircase that the preteen had disappeared up.  He smiled awkwardly, grabbing one of the cookies that Leena had just pulled out of the oven.  “Welcome to the family, Darcy Lewis.”  he muttered under his breath, and Leena smiled, pretending like she hadn’t heard him.  Arthur Nielsen might have liked to play at being the big bad secret agent, but she knew better.</p><p>He was nothing but a softie.</p><p>8888</p><p>Artie gave Darcy almost a week to settle in before springing anything else on her, although that wasn't by choice.  He kept getting ping after ping, travelling across the world to collect three artifacts in five days.  Leena looked after their newest member while he was gone - taking her shopping for clothes, getting her a haircut.  They walked around Univille - too small to be called a town, but an ‘unnamed, unincorporated settlement’ just didn’t have the same ring to it.  Leena promised that at one point they would decorate a room for her, after Artie got back.  The one thing that Artie had made Leena promise that she wouldn’t do was take Darcy shopping for books.</p><p>That was Artie’s domain.</p><p>Darcy wasn’t sure what to make of any of it - for the first time, she had a room of her own.  She had nicer clothes than she had ever had in her life - they weren’t anything fancy, but they were warm and comfortable and straight off the rack with no previous owners.  She had at least one person who cared about her, Leena.  She hadn’t seen much of Artie, but Leena said that he was busy and would be home as soon as he could.  There was food in the pantry and a roof over her head, and Leena had even promised to teach her how to bake cookies at some point soon.</p><p>Artie was due back home in a few hours, and the two girls were working in Leena’s garden in the meantime.  But Darcy was thinking about something - something that had been on her mind since Artie had reappeared in her life.  “Leena?” she asked, putting down the trowel that she had been using.  She turned to look at the woman - she had no idea how old she was.  Leena was ageless.</p><p>“Yes, Darcy?”</p><p>“What exactly does Artie even do?” the preteen asked, keeping her voice low.  This felt like the sort of topic that was almost banned - one of the things that people didn’t really talk about.  But she was curious - she had always been curious, really.  It was one of her key personality traits.</p><p>Leena stopped for a moment, sitting back on her heels.  She closed her eyes as she thought, taking in everything around her.  The B&amp;B hadn’t acted up in a few days, no new pings had come in.  None of the people of Univille had come with made-up issues about the ‘IRS agents’ that lived in the B&amp;B - the cover for the Warehouse agents.  The sun was out, and they were almost finished with the garden.  “He… he’s an adventurer, sort of.” she began, starting to find the right words.  She wanted to find a way to tell Darcy all about what it was that the Warehouse did, without scaring her. “You know the Clue Board, right?”</p><p>Darcy nodded.  “The one that killed my parents.”</p><p>“Right.” Leena continued, not quite sure how the conversation was going to go.  Explaining the purpose of the Warehouse was always easier when they were explaining it to someone who had already experienced an artifact, but sometimes it didn’t go well. “There are other things like that in the world - we call them artifacts.  Not all of them are deadly - some of them can even do good things.  But they all have side effects - they can hurt a lot of people if we aren’t careful.  It’s Artie’s job to track them all down and bring them back here.”</p><p>“Why does he bring them here if they’re so dangerous?” the unspoken question <em>why does he put himself in danger </em>hung in the air between them.</p><p>“He doesn’t bring them here, to the B&amp;B.”  Leena explained, her voice as gentle as her mannerisms.  There was a look on her face - one of understanding.  Somehow, even with Artie being gone, Darcy had grown attached.  She wasn’t surprised, really - the same thing had happened to her.  “He brings them to the Warehouse, where they’re all kept safe.  So that people can’t use them to hurt other people.”</p><p>8888</p><p>Artie was home for almost a week before he got called away on another case, and in that time the pair bonded.  The old man had a lot of walls to break down, and so did Darcy.  But Leena was relentless - she kept sending them off to do errands for her, pairing them up to do repairs around the house to get them talking.  Eventually they ended up talking just because, and chipping away at each other’s walls.</p><p>Finally, Artie had decided that Darcy was ready to see where the magic happened.  He snagged her as soon as breakfast was over, teasing that it was time for her to earn her keep.  The pair of them drove deep into the South Dakota badlands, making their way through miles and miles of nothing but sand and mountains.</p><p>Finally, they parked, and Artie turned to look at Darcy with his excitement written on every inch of his face.  “You ready?” he asked, already climbing out of the car.</p><p>“This is where 'endless wonder’ is kept?” Darcy asked skeptically, craning her neck so she could see the massive rusty building in front of her as she got out as well.  The warehouse was set into the side of the mountains in front of her, going back miles deep, its exterior the same color as the sand and dust beneath her feet.  The whole building was bigger than anything that she had ever seen - she couldn’t believe that no one had ever found it before.  But other than it’s giant size, it didn’t seem to be even the slightest bit impressive.  Just a big warehouse in the middle of nowhere. She heard Artie fiddling with his keys behind her,  and started slightly when he came up next to her.  “Doesn't look very endless to me.”</p><p>Artie laughed, his little round sunglasses sliding down his nose.  “Appearances can be deceiving, Miss Lewis.”  He lifted the little remote in his hand, and with a click, the door swung open.  “After you.”</p><p>She made her way carefully to the doorway, just looking inside before she actually went in.  it was a sterile hallway - it almost reminded her of the tunnel that had connected the airplane to the airport when they flew to South Dakota.  The only difference were the strange pillars in the middle of the hallway.  She started to make her way through, her hand reaching out curiously when she got close to one.  “Don't touch the bombs.” He warned, and she yanked her hand back.</p><p>“Or maybe you could not put bombs in the middle of a hallway.” She suggested, rolling her eyes even as she crossed her arms and glared at him.  He scoffed playfully, opening the door at the other end.  The sterile environment of the entryway was gone, replaced by a large and cozily cluttered office.  The walls were all exposed brick and concrete, but the rugs scattered around the room made up for it.  Large rolling boards were set up with little string lines connecting things on them, like some sort of a conspiracy board.  A table and chairs were set up in one corner, a whole army of filing cabinets against the walls around them.  Artie’s workstation took up the center of the room - while there was a piano on one side of the desk, the rest of it was covered in keyboards and monitors, all with a distinct steampunk feel.  Papers cluttered the desktop, and all sorts of items were displayed on the walls and shelves.</p><p>“This place is awesome.” Darcy breathed out, a smile creeping across her face as she took in everything around her.  Artie just smiled.  This was always one of his favorite things - showing someone the Warehouse for the first time never grew old.</p><p>He motioned for her to keep walking, promising himself that he would give her the grand tour of the office later.  “Come outside, I’ll show you everything.” he said, and Darcy hesitated.    “Come on!” he coaxed, holding out a hand to the child in front of him.  “It won’t bite.” she laughed at that, slipping her hand into his own.</p><p>He held her out the office door, onto the balcony that overlooked everything around them.  “Welcome to Warehouse 13.” He told her, and she held onto his hand just a little bit tighter.  Her glasses slipped a bit further down her nose as she stared at the sprawling mass in front of her.  Down on the warehouse floor, endless rows stretched out, going back further than the eye could see.  Larger objects were mingled in with them - a pyramid, the wreckage of several airplanes, and a cruise ship were among some of the things that she saw in that first glance.</p><p>A wide, awed smile stretched across her face as she took in everything below her.  “This is so cool.”. </p><p>“Do you want to see it up close?” Artie asked, and judging by the gleam in his eye he already knew what her answer was going to be.</p><p>She nodded her head so fast that her hair went flying, and Artie was almost afraid that her head was going to fall off.  So he led her down to the Warehouse floor, and started to take her through all the aisles.  At first they didn’t say anything - the silence there for Darcy to just look at everything, take it all in.</p><p>Finally, she spoke.  “What is all this?” she asked, one hand reaching up to run along the shelves next to her.  Artie grabbed her hand before she could reach completely up there. </p><p>“Don’t touch that.” he warned, handing her a pair of purple gloves.  “Not without these.  They're called artifacts.”  </p><p>But Darcy’s eyes were locked on the ceiling, not paying attention to a word that the man said.  “Is that a blimp?”</p><p>Artie barely even looked up.  “It’s, ah, a zeppelin, actually.” he corrected.</p><p>“Why did you bring me here?” She whispered.  She ran her fingertips over a glass case, admiring the jewels locked away behind it.  Each piece of jewelry had a small identification card beside it, stating what the piece was and what it did.</p><p>“To show you that not everything different is bad.” he shrugged, trying to play off what he was saying.  Artie had never been all that good at expressing his emotions, and this was no different.  “There are bad things out there - like the Clue board.  But then there are good things too.  And either way, there's people in the world that will stop the bad things.”</p><p>“You're there, aren't you?  You'll keep us all safe.” She said, and the sheer belief in her eyes nearly blew him away.  She believed in him - believed that he would protect her.  He had never had someone believe in him like that before.  And while it was awe-inspiring to have that kind of trust put into him, it was also terrifying.  One wrong move could have all of that backfiring, and he didn’t want that to ever happen.</p><p>“Right, enough about that.” Artie said gruffly, but his smile was found as he passed her the plate of cookies.  He adjusted his glasses on his face,  “Wanna hear more?”</p><p>The grin that she gave him lit up a protective part of him that he didn't know existed, even as he realized that telling a thirteen year old that artifacts existed might have been a bad idea.  “Hell yes.”</p><p>As they walked back up to his office, he could see her sniffing the air out of the corner of his eye.  “What is it?” he asked - much more gently than he had asked one of his last trainee agents the same question.  She was a child.  He had been an idiot.</p><p>“Nothing.” Darcy replied, so quickly that it was obvious that she was lying.  Artie glared at her, the look making her shrink back slightly even as she amended her words. “Maybe nothing.  It’s just… can you smell apples?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>To those who haven't watched Warehouse 13, the Warehouse itself is slightly sentient.  One of the ways it communicates is by making you smell apples- if you smell them, it means the Warehouse likes you.</p><p>Two characters, ones that aren't in this fic yet - Claudia and HG - have both smelled apples.  At one point, the Warehouse even gave an apple to Artie.</p><p>If you have any questions about Warehouse-related things, please let me know! I'll be happy to answer any questions.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Years passed, until Darcy knew the Warehouse like the back of her hand.  She spent all of her free time there, exploring the endless space that it held.  No matter how far she wandered, there was always more to see - more aisles to map, more hidden nooks to discover.  When Univille and small-town life got to be too much for her, the Warehouse was always there.  Agents came and went - the longest lasted a year or so, the shortest got thrown out almost as soon as he arrived.  Leena had taken one look at the man and told him to leave her home - she refused to say what she saw in his aura, but she had refused to let him stay at the B&amp;B for longer than a day.</p><p>The people of the town thought that she was weird - the adopted daughter of one of the strange IRS agents that lived on the outskirts of town.  The agents that Artie kept trying to hire thought that she was strange as well.  She didn’t trust any of them - it was leftover trauma from her childhood, but she was usually right to not trust them.</p><p>The Warehouse did end up getting one other agent, however.  But it was an accident.</p><p>As much as Darcy liked to be helpful around the place - shelving artifacts, doing inventory, and taking care of critical systems - Artie refused to let her go on missions, even just as backup to him.  It was something that he had gotten Mrs Frederic - the Caretaker of the Warehouse, and his boss - to agree with him on, and something that he refused to change his mind on no matter how much she argued with him.  And she argued about it with him a lot.</p><p>So Darcy stayed in the Warehouse, doing endless rounds of inventory.  It was almost cool, in a way - there were so many fascinating things hidden away in the aisles. And on one of those days of doing inventory, she came across the Bronze Sector.  It was full of bronze statues, all of them of people.  What she hadn’t known was that all of the statues had at one point been real people - all of them cryogenically frozen, then bronzed using an artifact.  The Bronze Sector held serial killers, dictators, madmen - all before they hit their prime.  </p><p>And when she was checking out the Bronze Sector, Darcy accidentally let one of the madman free.</p><p>Helena Wells, a former Warehouse agent who had asked to be Bronzed after killing another agent with an artifact.  It had been an accident, the regents had ruled, but she still claimed it as her fault - if she hadn’t been so grief-stricken from the death of her daughter, she wouldn’t have been messing with the artifact in the first place.</p><p>That was how Helena George Wells - also known as H.G. Wells, the ‘father’ of science fiction - came back to the Warehouse.  Artie didn’t trust her in the slightest, refusing to leave her alone for even a minute.  The former NSA agent lived and breathed paranoia, it was what had kept him alive for so long.  But at the same time, that paranoia made it hard for him to accept HG into the Warehouse.  Until HG managed to save the accident-prone teenager from an artifact while he had been away on a case.  A can of cooking spray from the Warehouse had fallen into a bag of baking supplies when she had stopped by the Warehouse on her way to Leena’s.  When used, the spray had caused everyone who ate the cookies that Darcy had made to fall into a coma.  Darcy and Leena had fallen until a coma within a few minutes of pulling the cookies out of the oven.  HG had found them when she came home from a trip into town and reversed the effects.  To her it hadn’t meant much - she was just doing her job.  To Artie, it meant everything.</p><p>After that, it didn’t take long for HG Wells to settle right in at the Warehouse.</p><p>8888</p><p>The next set of new agents were collected in the normal way - or at least, what was normal for the Warehouse.  Secret Service agents Myka Bering and Pete Lattimer were grabbed during a mission gone wrong - an Aztec bloodstone that used a young girl to try and assassinate the president.  While Myka had been the one to do the actual rescue, it was Pete who managed to get the artifact out of the museum.  And by extension, bring it to Artie.  None of the rest of the Warehouse staff minded when Mrs. Frederic sent them a warning - there would be two new agents moving into the Bed &amp; Breakfast.</p><p>HG was ecstatic to have more people to help on cases - it would make things easier on the agents as a whole, and far more safer when they were able to partner up on cases.  Leena was excited to have new people in the house, and Artie was outwardly ambivalent on the whole thing.  Secretly he was happy about it.  It meant that he would be able to stay home and run things from there, so that he would be safer.  Without Darcy, he wouldn’t have cared about his safety - but he wasn’t going to leave her alone in the world.</p><p>Of course, they came to the Warehouse at the worst possible time - HG was gone for a few months, and Darcy had recently started preparing for college.  They were a few hands short, and needed all of the help that they could get.  </p><p>8888</p><p>Their first few cases went seamlessly - other than the normal artifact troubles, Agents Bering and Lattimer were fitting right in.  They spent most of their time in the field - out of all of the Warehouse team, they had only met half of it so far.  HG was on long-term assignment, looking in on an artifact-smuggling ring somewhere in Egypt, while Darcy was at college.  Neither of the agents even had any idea that the two women existed yet - while they had seen Artie on the Farnsworth with them, they had both automatically assumed that he was talking with Leena or Mrs. Frederic.</p><p>They came back to Leena's, still arguing about who had actually snagged James Braid's chair - while simultaneously planning out how they would mess with Artie for pitting them against each other the way he had while in the middle of a case.  The fighting between them would have to be solved, of course, but not like that.</p><p>They came into the B&amp;B still arguing, but stopping the moment that they heard feet pounding on the stairs.  Both of them reached for their guns, only stopping when they saw who it was.  While it was no one that they recognized - neither of them were willing to shoot a kid, even if she had managed to break into their home.  She maybe came up to Myka’s shoulder, if not lower.  She hadn’t spotted either agent yet, too intent on whatever it was that she was holding.  She looked to be in her late teens - dark hair and blue eyes, and had what looked to be one of Artie’s oversized cardigans slung over her shoulders.  A dog - Trailer, they recognized - trailed behind her, his tail wagging furiously the entire time.</p><p>“Leena, we have to finish those cookies for -” she cut herself off when she came into the main hall, shrinking in on herself when she saw the two agents.  Darcy had wrapped herself up in layers again, the sleeves of her cardigan - it was hers at this point, she refused to return it to Artie - covering her hands.  Her long hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and the front of her shirt was covered in flour, as was the bowl in her hands.  It had been nine years in total since she had first come to the Warehouse, and in that time she had grown up.  Her hair was longer, her curves had grown in, and she was far more sure of herself than she had been when she first came to her new home.  But there were still a few things that scared her, and people with guns were one of them - trauma from the police officers at the scene of her parents’ death.  Her eyes went wide as she looked at the pair, taking them in.  Somehow, her eyes got even wider when they dropped to the guns holstered on the agents’ waists.</p><p>For their part, both Pete and Myka did their best to look unthreatening, but it didn’t seem to work very well.  Within moments, Darcy had run back off to the kitchen from upstairs, barely making a sound as she moved.</p><p>It was Leena who broke the silence, startling both of them with how she popped up behind them.  “Sorry.” the innkeeper said, looking towards the kitchen with a slight furrow in her brow.  “She's… not the best with new people.  She'll get used to you soon.”</p><p>“Who was that?” Pete asked, still looking in her direction.</p><p>“That was Darcy - she’s just home on break from college for a week or so.” the innkeeper explained before turning towards the kitchen.  When she yelled in that direction, she almost seemed to lose some of her mysterious aura, seeming more like a real person instead of just a mysterious innkeeper.  “Racy!” she called, earning herself a raised eyebrow from Myka at the nickname.  “Would you come say hello, please!”</p><p>There was a huff - something Myka recognized as the universal sound that a frustrated  younger sibling made.  She couldn’t help the small smile that crossed her face because of it. “Don’t call me that!” the girl called out, glaring as she poked her head out of the kitchen.  “When does HG get back from Cairo?  I need help with an essay on one of her books.”</p><p>Leena rolled her eyes, something that really only happened with Darcy.  “You know Artie said that HG isn’t allowed to help you after the last time, Darcy.” she reminded the younger woman.  </p><p>Darcy huffed loudly, blowing a piece of hair out of her face as she did so.  “She literally wrote the book.” she pointed out.  Still, she already knew how this argument was going to end - they had been having it for years by this point in her life.  There wasn’t much of a chance that repeating the same argument would change the outcome.  “Why can’t I use her as a resource?”</p><p>Leena laughed despite herself.  “Because your teachers would have a fit if you cited Helena as a first hand source.” she said dryly.  “Now get back to the kitchen - Artie will be back soon.  I’ll be there in a minute, I just need to get Pete and Myka situated first.”</p><p>8888</p><p>Pete and Myka didn't see her again for awhile - not until they were coming back to Artie's office after shelving their latest snag-n-bag.  That was where they found her - in Artie’s office, curled up in the only comfy chair in the room - a big leather wingback chair that had its back to the balcony, so that whoever was sitting in it didn’t have to watch the Warehouse and it’s tendencies to spontaneously cause trouble.  Trailer was at her feet, standing guard in the best way that he could - taking a nap.</p><p>“Nice job out there.”  she said, still engrossed in her work.</p><p>The pair of agents froze, both of them reaching for their guns the second that they had realized that there was someone who wasn’t Artie in the Warehouse.  Their paranoia only eased slightly once they realized that it was just Darcy.  Still, they were a little thrown by the sight.  “Who are you?” Pete asked harshly, glaring at the girl.  “How did you get in here?”</p><p>She didn’t even bother to answer the first question - it was a waste of everyone’s time, they had already met before.  The second question was more interesting.  “I have a key.” she said, holding up the fob that was attached to her keychain.</p><p>“You're that kid.” Pete said, pointing at her.  She was half-hidden behind a stack of papers, one pen in her hand and another tucked behind her ear.  “The one from Leena’s.”</p><p>“Not a kid.” She said, barely looking up from the paperwork she was filling out.  Trailer was still sitting happily at her feet, slightly more awake now that there were more people there.  That more than anything else was what convinced them that everything was fine - the collie wouldn’t have been that calm around her if she meant any sort of trouble.  “I'm nineteen, I’ll be twenty in a month.”</p><p>Pete shot a look at Myka - even with all that he had seen, this still freaked him out a bit.  He had been in law enforcement for a long time - first in the Marines, then in the Secret Service.  But he had never seen a civilian left alone in a top-secret location like this before.  </p><p>“I'm glad you guys are here though.” She admitted, still not actually looking at them.  Life was easier that way, she had found - and admittedly learned from Artie.  Emotions were difficult to talk about, but it was made easier when you didn’t have to look at the other person.  “I wasn't sure you'd work out at first, y'know?  But you guys are alright.  You make Artie's life a lot simpler, anyway.  Leena and I don't have to worry about him as much.”</p><p>“Who are you?”. Myka asked.</p><p>“Darcy - Darcy Lewis.” </p><p>“Why do you care about Artie so much?” Pete asked, genuinely perplexed.  Before she had a chance to answer, however, the man in question came barrelling into the room, muttering something under his breath as he made a beeline for his computer.</p><p>“That better be your PoliSci homework, Miss Lewis.” Artie warned, already throwing himself down in his chair.  He rolled himself over to his rather steampunk looking setup even as he continued to glare at the</p><p>“Yes, <em>mom</em>.” She shot back, rolling her eyes.  Artie scoffed in reply as he turned around in his chair, glaring at his daughter.  It was an interesting face-off for the newest Warehouse agents to watch.  They had definitely seen the protective and slightly overbearing side of Artie’s personality so far, but never at this level.</p><p>His eyes narrowed at the girl sitting in the large leather chair - one that he would never admit to having put there specifically for her.  “Don’t you sass me, kid.” he growled.</p><p>Darcy laughed - no matter how threatening Artie tried to be, he rarely actually achieved it.  “Or what?” she asked, almost smirking as she looked over at the man in question.</p><p>Artie smirked back in return - it was almost eerie to see just how the pair seemed to mirror each other.  “Or I’ll make you flush out the gooery.” he said, enjoying the way her face fell immediately.</p><p>“I take it all back.” she said quickly, turning her attention back to the papers piled in her lap.</p><p>“That’s what I thought.”</p><p>8888</p><p>“Hey Pete, come help me with this.” Darcy called out, leaning back in her chair and contorting so that she could see the agent coming in.  Almost eighteen months had passed since Agents Bering and Lattimer had first come to the Warehouse, with Claudia Donovan following behind them not long after. Ever since then, they had quickly filled in roles in their strange little family - Pete and Myka were the older siblings who were constantly bickering even when they always had each others backs, while Claudia was the baby of the family.  That left Darcy as the middle sibling trying to keep everything together - a role that she loved and hated in equal measures.</p><p>Claudia had taken some getting used to - while the girls were thick as thieves now, at first they had been worse than enemies.  Claudia had seen Darcy as her replacement - another girl that the Professor - also known as Artie Nielsen - had actually saved, instead of abandoning.  And Darcy had seen her as the kidnapper of the only real parental figure that she had ever known.</p><p>“Whatcha need, Darcy?” Pete asked, making his way into the room as he shoved another cookie into his mouth.</p><p>Darcy was sitting in the dining room, with every available surface covered in paperwork.  He already knew what it was, of course - Darcy had been complaining about internships and missing science credits for ages.  She had been searching for one for awhile now - Artie had tried to convince her to just take the classes that she needed, but she was insisting on an internship.  When asked, she had explained that college life wasn’t all it was cracked up to be - she had missed the traveling that had come with the Warehouse.</p><p>“Okay, weren’t you supposed to have figured this out by now?” he asked, gesturing to the mountains of paperwork that surrounded her.  </p><p>“Yes, I know.  But, we got super swamped with pings, and Artie needed my help in the office, and then everything happened with MacPherson and I just got distracted.”</p><p>“Alright, fine.” He huffed, teasing her.  It took him only a moment to pick an internship out of the pile of options.  “Go with that one.” Pete suggested, handing her one out of the pile.  Darcy picked it up, looking it over with a practiced eye.  </p><p>“Dr. Jane Foster.” she read, feeling doubtful.  “It says she’s an astrophysicist, and…” she squinted, leaning in a bit closer.  “That she’s not crazy?”</p><p>“Hey, I call them as I see them.” Pete shrugged, tapping the application as he stole a cookie off of the plate that she had stolen from Leena.  She glared at him, but he didn’t even bat an eye, choosing to down another cookie instead.</p><p>“I still can’t believe you’re going to Culver.” Myka said as she sat down at the table across from her.  “That’s so far away.”</p><p>“You say that every semester, Mykes.” Pete replied, rolling his eyes.</p><p>“Besides,” Darcy chimed in as Claudia walked in, “I can’t live here forever.  No matter how much Artie wants me to.  I want to see what else is out there, you know? Spend some time away from here.  Maybe make a difference in a way that doesn't involve crazy missions and artifacts.”</p><p>“A few years away from Crazytown.” Claudia said, snorting a laugh even as she shook her head.  She plopped down into the chair next to her pseudo-sister, stealing the cookie out of Darcy's hand.  “You'll never make it.”</p><p>“Ok, I can totally do it.” Darcy argued, even as she cradled the plate of cookies on her lap. The rest of her family were thieves - they weren’t stealing any more from her.  “I've already made it this far.”</p><p>“Which makes it all the more likely that something will happen.” Leena said, throwing in her two cents.  She was sat on the sofa, a pile of yarn in her lap as she worked on it.</p><p>Darcy threw up her hands in the air, only partially joking.  “What is this, Pick on Darcy Day?” </p><p>“We’re just worried for you, Racy.”  Leena said, hazel eyes focusing in on the girl.  Out of everyone at the Warehouse, those two had the strongest bond.  They had had almost ten years of just the two of them before the others had joined - the two women bonding while Artie was training new agents that had failed, or off racing around the world himself.  If anyone could get through to Darcy, it would be Leena.</p><p>“I'm telling you guys.” Darcy argued stubbornly.  “I just want to see what the rest of the world is like.  Give up the endless wonder, just for a bit.  And I'm going to do it.”</p><p>“But why would you want to?” Pete asked.  “I mean… endless wonder, right? Why would you want to give that up?”</p><p>“I don't want to give it up completely.” She argued.  “But it would be cool to see what the world is like on it's own, you know?  Without the world almost ending every other week.”</p>
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